Hook Mountain Massacre
Adventure 12 - In the Hook's Shadow Something is rotten in the state of Denmark. Er, Magnimar. And once again it's up to the Drunkards to investigate! Background 45 years ago, Turtleback Ferry was a sleepy hamlet on the banks of the Skull River. Unfortunately, the town began to experience raids by ogres from nearby Hook Mountain. The town asked the expanding city-state of Magnimar (who already had a few territories and holdings, like Sandpoint) for aid. Magnimar established Fort Rannick nearby and stationed a company of rangers, the Order of the Black Arrows, at the fort. Together, the Black Arrows and Turtleback Ferry were able to decisively defeat the ogres at the Valley of Broken Trees, and the area has been peaceful since. It seems that Magnimar has not heard reports from Fort Rannick in quite some time. Lord-Mayor Grobaras has summoned Mir, Clang, Rubick, Kranks, Bardakus and Kaycee, and asked them to investigate. After some haggling, the Drunkards agree and decide to take the 7-day barge journey to the hamlet. While preparations are being made, the party is surprised by a friendly face -- Shalelu Andosana (the elf ranger from Sandpoint, who gave the group intelligence on goblins) wants to join the group for their journey. Kaycee is nonplussed by the idea of having her half-sister on the trip (the two don't get along) but since she already agreed to go she is unwilling to break the contract. It is unknown why the elf wants to join the group at this point, but (most of) the party is glad to have her (especially Bardakus, whom I guess has an elf fetish?). The Journey As winter is approaching, the days are getting shorter, and the cold rain makes for a miserable barge trip. The Drunkards do what they can to stay dry, but the days in the constant wet takes their toll. They are definitely looking forward to spending a dry night at the half-way stopover in Whistledown. After the barge docks, the party is making the half-mile walk to the village inn, only to find they have to wade a stream swollen with rain-water... too bad a nereid has also found the stream and claimed it as her territory. The showdown between the scantily-clad creature and the Drunkards is a remarkably tough affair -- she initially summons a water elemental, and the party doesn't seem to be able to damage her at all. Clang and Mir maneuver into flanking position while Kaycee and Shalelu provide artillery support (Kaycee loudly points out that she is more effective...). Even with Baradakus inspiring, the creature seems to shake off most of Rubick's spells. Even worse... Mir stops attacking. He is fascinated by the creature... if it touches him, she'll fill his lungs with water, and drown him! Suddenly, for some reason, the creature stops -- she's watching Bardakus' hips as he does The Dance of Hot Latin Love... she can't turn away, it's like watching a train wreck! The party uses the distraction to wade across the river and get to town where Kranks works his portable-first-aid-kit skills. The following day, they make it back to the barge without incident -- apparently the nereid has moved on to some other home. The trip up river to Turtleback Ferry is again miserable, although Bardakus and Shalelu seem to be spending an awful lot of time together. The rain seems to have abated somewhat by the time they arrive at dusk. Turtleback Ferry The village perched on the edge of Claybottom Lake is named for the the three distinctive ferries, crafted from the shells of giant turtles slain by town founder Autek Lavendy. The arrival of the barge, and our heroes, does not seem to be attract much attention. The Drunkards question locals about Fort Rannick, but no one has heard anything in quite a while. The Fort apparently does not make scheduled visits to town, but even so, it's been an oddly long time to go without hearing from them, now that you mention it. All of the locals seem anxious and eagar to get home before nightfall. Very little information can be gotten out of them. Bardakus casts charm on one of the locals before questioning him further. Recent happenings in town include the sinking of the Paradise - an huge old boat converted into a floating gambling den and private club, packed day and night with gamblers and those indulging in other vices. The name of the owner was Lucrecia - could this be the same Lucrecia whom wrote to Xanesha in Magnimar and was bragging about harvesting greedy souls? The Drunkards suspicions are supported when the charmed man shows the party his ticket to the "members only" areas of Paradise -- the Sihedron Star, tattooed on his chest. Unfortunately, since the ship sank a few weeks ago (taking two dozen people with it) this avenue of investigation appears closed for now. Encounter in the Forest The following day, the party informs the Priest-mayor that they are headed to Fort Rannick and are given directions. As they make their way North, Kaycee hears a cat screaming in pain in the distance -- the party goes into the woods, and sees a firepelt cougar caught in a trap. Kaycee attempts to reassure the animal, but is not strong enough to open the trap by herself. She calls Clang, Mighty Paladin of Tavern Tales over for help, knowing that surely this paragon of good cannot see an innocent animal suffer -- only to have Clang ignore her pleas when he hears something coming through the forest which might be slightly more interesting. Fortunately Mir is able to disable the spring on the trap, and set the creature free. Even better, he's able to re-arm the thing and quickly positions it to help deal with whatever is coming. The party, including the cougar, hide in the undergrowth. Through the foliage bursts 5 mean looking hounds, followed by a particularly disgusting creature -- almost like a stunted ogre, hunched, with a wide mouth and one huge misshapen finger for a right hand. He sees that his trap is gone and bellows "Whoever be thar, youse-a-gunna' pay! I's a-huntin' kitty cat!" Shalelu looses her arrows and the rest of the party takes up defensive positions. Kaycee casts entangle (the first time the party has seen her use a spell, come to think of it) which restrains some of the dogs. Mir, Clang and Rubick make quick work of most of the hounds, with Bardakus's inspiring rhythms. Finally, the hunter is downed and the party secures him before letting Kranks heal to restore consciousness. While doing so the cougar (whom Shalelu and Kaycee have summized to be the companion of a ranger or druid) is beckoning the party to proceed in the direction from which the hunter came. The tied up creature is healed (slightly) and questioned. He is initially uncooperative, but one charm later, he starts responding to questions. He claims his name is Rukus Graul and lives at a farmstead nearby with an extended family. He proudly points to his favourite blanket (he never leaves home without it) where "Mammy" sewed bloodstained patches from the cloaks of dead captives -- all of which are obviously from the Order of the Black Arrow. He claims that there were at least a few captives left alive in the homestead, with Mammy and some brothers while he went a-huntin'. Shalelu is visibly distraught as these revelations, and is nearly in tears. After the questioning is done and the party agrees to rescue the captive rangers, she kills Rukus. To the Graul Homestead With Rukus Graul dead, the rescued cougar (who wears a name tag saying "Kipp") leads the party along an unmaintained path deeper into the forest. Oddly enough, the party is feeling particularly competent and deadly after their encounter with Rukus -- several members feel like they can squeeze extra attacks in as they fight, or have more magical power at their disposal! Mir and Kaycee scout the trail ahead of the rest of the party to prevent ambushes. They come to a clearing with two buildings (what appears to be a farmhouse and a barn) and a small cornfield. Unfortunately, despite their best efforts to remain stealthy, they are spotted by another deformed ogrekin, this one eight feet high with half of his head covered in disgusting growths of bone and tumors, making half of his face look like a pumpkin. The creature (later identified as "Crowfood" by the name written in his underwear) shouts at the top of his lungs, and rushes in to attack. Kaycee unloads a barrage of arrows into the creature, while Mir (feeling confident in his newfound prowess) rushes in to meet the deformed hillbilly, doing even more damage. This brave action proves foolhardy, as the massive ogre hook wielded by Crowfood smashes into the elf, greatly injuring him. The rest of the party rushes to catch up, but most don't have time to do anything to help. The exceptions are Rubick (whose haste ''spell takes effect) and Shalelu (who fires a single ineffective arrow into the ground, inches from her own foot). Aided by the haste, Kaycee unloads a second flight of arrows, which turn Crowfood into a pin-cushion. The creature yells an unholy scream as it dies, which surely alerts anyone else within a half a mile as to his fate. Since no one seems to be rushing out to come to their brother's aid, the party take their time to survey their surroundings while Kranks and Clang tend to Mir's injuries. The barn and farmhouse are both boarded up, but some movement can be heard in the barn. Mir climbs up onto the rotten porch of the farmhouse to take a look around -- the pine pillars holding the lopsided eave up are carved with crude pictures of manticores impaling children with their tail spikes, and women being ripped apart by wolves. A large rocking chair of lashed wood and bone sways in the breeze under wind chimes made of humanoid bones. While Mir is probing the defenses, Bardakus is probing for information regarding if Shalelu has a boyfriend (or girlfriend?). (meta -- Much to the GM's chagrin, the party elects to investigate the barn first, to eliminate any reserve force before infiltrating the house.) The Barn The group position itself at the entrance to the barn and Bardakus summons swarms of rats to infiltrate the place. The sounds heard inside are laughing, splattering and crunching as the Drunkards conclude that their rodent allies are now a paste. Mighty Clang throws open the barn doors: inside they can see a crude still, along with three other deformed orgrekin -- one with polymelia (an extra arm) whom the party dubs "Army", one with huge cloudy white eyes ("Milky"), and one with shrunken legs ("Stumpy"). Army moves into position to attack Clang, whose mighty falchion makes quick work of the wretch. Kaycee unloads her bow into Milky whose head bursts with the force of arrows, spewing foul pus from his eyes. Kaycee tells the Stumpy to lay down arms, but he ignores her and attempts to waddle over to Mir. With the combined effort of Mir, Rubick, Kranks, Bardakus, and Shalelu he is downed in a burst of pants-shitting martial and magical prowess! As the party investigates the barn interior, the Drunkards (particularly Bardakus and Kranks) earn their namesake as they deftly down the potent ogre-moonshine (Bardakus takes a flask worth when no one is looking -- probably planning on trying to get Shalelu's drunk next time they make camp). There is a large door at the end of the room, and a catwalk going to two smaller doors above the main level. Kaycee and Kranks go up one catwalk while Mir goes to the other. Clang, Bardakus, Shalelu and Rubick make preparations burst through the large main level door if needed. Kaycee and Mir attempt to sneak through the two upper doors simultaneously. Inside, a large funnel spider web leaves little doubt as to what dangers are about to be faced. At the far end of the room, two cages rest -- one is empty but for bloody shackles, while the other appears to house emaciated and unconscious men. Rescue Rangers As our heroes attempt to make their way to the men, they are attacked by Biggin' -- the spider that make his home in the web. The party decides to flee the scene -- the men appear safe in their cage for now, and Biggin' could be dealt with strategically. As Kaycee is attempting to flee however, she is bitten by the creature, and feels its poison's effects immediately. Shalelu, being a bitch, decides to "help" her half-sister, but ends up blocking Kaycee's only safe means of escape. Since the spider is distracted with the easy target of Kaycee, Mir changes plan and attempts to pick the locks to go through the cages and rescue the prisoners. The rest of the party buys into the plan and rushes to the catwalks to help fight. By this point, the spider has had another go at the weakened Kaycee and gets more bites in. Not only is this damaging to the elf, but the poison is acting even more potently, and she continues to weaken (meta -- around this point, Jason starts thinking about what class he's going to play next). Kaycee is just barely is able to get out of the room where Kranks is ready with a ''restoration spell, and Shalelu uses a potion of neutralize poison to halt the draining effects. Despite the close call with death, Kaycee is a wee bit ticked at being alive -- now she owes Shalelu her life. The party takes pot-shots through the doors at the spider but it's Rubick's'' flaming sphere which finally does the creature in. With the spider dead, the party can take their time in the room. Kaycee and Mir each take one of the spider's fangs (Kaycee as a trophy, Mir to use to make poison) and Mir and Kranks free and heal the naked and unconscious captives. Shalelu runs over to one of the men in particular. Bardakus asks "so, that's your... husband?" to which she replies "father". It turns out that the three men are members of the Order of the Black Arrows -- Jakardros Sovark (the grizzled one eyed man Shalelu identifies as her father), Vale Temros (a 6'6" towering man with a muscular build), and Kaven Windstrike (a handsome young man with dark hair and emerald eyes). The rangers indicate that they think they might be the last ones left alive. Since the Drunkards are running short on high level spells at this point, they elect to escort the rangers back to Turtleback Ferry and plan an assault on the farmhouse for the following day. Any further captives in the house (if there are any) will have to tempt fate and spend another almost certainly fatal night with the Grauls. The Graul House Lady Luck was not with our heroes (or their d20s) when they returned to the Graul homestead. After dropping the surviving Black Arrows (along with Shalelu and Clang) in Turtleback Ferry, the party returns to the Graul Homestead to check for more surviving rangers (and to deal with the threat of the Graul family). Thief extraordinaire Mir recons the house and observes two entrances -- one off the main porch, and a second at the side of the building. The party elects to enter the side first -- ew, gross. Mir enters what is presumably some kind of abattoir. Hands and fingers lay strewn about in awful states of decay, the congealed blood suggesting that each was removed while their owners were still alive. The stench is overwhelming, and Mir vomits all over the floor. He exits the room, to recover his composure and the party decide to let this particular room air out while they explore the rest of the house via the other door... The group moves along the porch with Rubic leading the way. Oh no! Although Mir was extra cautious about the previous door, he does not catch the sawblade traps mounted under the porch floorboards! Despite his best effort, Rubic requires a few blasts from Shalelu's wand of ''cure light wounds to shake off the potential tetanus. Barakus gives Mir a pep talk about searching for traps and a poison trap in some wind chimes is found before it does any damage. The Drunkards enter the front parlor of the house to find a bear skin rug, and a couch upholstered with human leather (a stylistic theme that runs throughout the house). Again, the pep talk leads to the discovery of a pit trap hidden near the couch (which thwarts Barakus' dream of laying in human-leather at least once in his life...) Continuing through to a hallway, the group pics a door to enter... only to find a morbidly obese woman in bed surrounded by her own filth and bones and what look to be the dead bodies of other ogrekin! The disgusting creature (presumably "Mammy" Graul that Rukus mentioned) must have heard the saw trap go off, as she has already cast several spells and is flying above the bed (or rather, it appears that five of her are!). The dead ogrekin around her come to life (or rather, undeath) as the Drunkards prepare for an assault. Kranks blasts the zombies with positive energy, and Rubick sends a fireball into the room (hitting Mir in the process, but putting and end to the zombies) Meanwhile Kaycee is sending multiple arrows into the walls and floor (finally managing to "pop" one of the mirror images on her last arrow). Mir's rolls turn out to be not much better than Kaycee's as his rapier and shortsword cut the air with remarkably stylistic misses. Rubick's haste allows for the ineffectiveness to continue as Mammy uses Channel Negative Energy to harm the group (thankfully, Kranks's healing negates most of that soon enough). Finally, Barakus' inspiring jig and song does its work and the rolls start coming in as Mir, Kaycee and Rubick are able to do some real damage to Mammy (popping several mirror images, and hurting the real ogrekin). Bardakus uses his whip to grab the quarterstaff (with a human arm lashed to it!) from Mammy's hands. Deciding that discretion is the better part of valour, Mammy casts dimension door which whisks her away from the fight to places unknown. The group heals up and continues to search the house. The place is littered with traps (Bardakus wisely uses his new quarterstaff and arm to open doors along the way, until one trap cleaves the staff in twain). The group finds a macabre dining room (with a severed head centrepiece, crawling with flies and maggots), and a small room at the back filled with the bones of small ogrekin girls -- that explains why this place is largely a sausage-fest. Off the dining room, the party comes across what is seemingly a nursery, although the two ogrekin present are fully grown (one with stunted non-working legs, the other with awkward joints that bend the wrong way.) Fortunately, these two do not pose much of a threat to our heroes, and they are soon made into more rotting meat! The main floor clear, the party heads upstairs. They discover a bedroom, or sorts with a series of cots and a treasure chest -- it's only after Kranks' belt of giant strength and bull strength spells, plus Rubick's enlarge person, plus a lever system rigged up by Barakus that the group can force the heavy lid open... A bit of loot inside, but not tons. Continuing to explore the upper level, a workshop, presumably where the many traps in the house are made, is discovered. Finally, our heroes descend to the basement. Mir uses one of the Skinsaw masks to transform himself into the image of Mammy Graul. Rooting around, they encounter the toughest ogrekin yet, who has two donkey-rats aiding his backstab prowess. The image of Mammy allows the Drunkards to get him to move into a position where Rubick's grease and Bardakus' whip wrest the ogre-hook from his hand. A rough fight ensues, but finally the creature joins his brothers in death. Deeper into the basement, the party encounters a tendriculos guarding one last door. Mir's Skinsaw mask, an invisibility spell and a silence spell allow him to sneak past the creature and loot what is apparently the Graul's treasure horde. In addition to gold, jewels and other items of value, an obviously magical longbow and several other magic items are discovered. Satisfied that there are no further prisoners, the Drunkards head back to town. Meanwhile, the Graul matriarch is still out there somewhere, and must surely be plotting revenge against those who destroyed her family... Adventure 13 - Fort Rannick "Twas an awful night, full of terrors, when the Kreegs came..." So began the tale that the surviving Black Arrows told, as they were questioned by The Drunkards in Turtleback Ferry. The Black Arrows occasionally organized patrols in the area of Hook Mountain to keep the local ogre clans (including the Kreegs) in check. While a large group of rangers were away on patrol, it seems that the Kreegs attacked Fort Rannick, overrunning it and killing the skeleton crew remaining inside. When the patrol returned, only a few were able to escape the ambush, and were chased South, right into the waiting arms of the Graul family. The party, now rested and restocked, vow to help the three surviving Black Arrows (Jakardros, Kaven and Vale) retake the fort. Jarkardros and Vale are particularly helpful planning an assault, including divulging the existence of a secret passage behind a waterfall that leads into the fort. Kaven seems helpful, but some of the party have a feeling that he is holding something back... The group (less Bardakus and Shalelu who for some reason couldn't be found...) travels through the night and arrives near dawn. Scouting the fort from the woods, they can see ogres still occupy the place, playing some kind of demented ball game with the heads of Black Arrows and the carcasses of the giant eagles with whom the Arrows were allied. Vale notes that the ogres seem to be taking residence in the so called "New Barracks" - a relatively construction which is regarded by many as a death trap due to it's wooden construction, and lack of nearby water. Many rangers have even placed kindling in the well ventilated area below the building as a commentary on the building. Slowly, a plan begins to form in the minds of our heroes... The group finds a spot where they are obscured by rocks, and swims across the fort's moat to the secret passage behind the waterfall. Sneaking through the passage, it seems there are 3 exits -- one near the New Barracks, one on the other side of the hold, and one which goes deeper underground to emerge inside the hold's basement. Clang suggests the one on the other side of the hold, since there are apparently crypts on the way and there might be some undead to fight. Others want to go through the basement. Regardless, Rubick emerges near the New Barracks, casts Fireball, and renames the building "New Burnacks". Heh. While the screams of burning ogres and other commotion is causing confusion outside, the party re-enters the secret passage and proceeds down towards the basement exit. The explore the tunnels with little incident until they reach the apparent end of the tunnel -- and they hear the sound of someone setting down a wine glass from the room on the other side of the door. A plan is hastily formed -- Kranks will cast Silence and Rubick will cast Haste and Invisibility on Clang, who will enter and find out if the person on the other side be friend or foe. Clang kicks in the door (which makes an awesome yet eerie display as the door shatters in a silent explosion of wood chips with not obvious source!) and enters to find a woman at a desk, writing in a journal. Evil is detected. The woman is obviously quite powerful, as she shakes off the Silence effect with ease, as the rest of the Drunkards file in. She says her name is Lucrecia, and asks who these people who just barged into her room are. Speaking is apparently enough of a hostile action that Mighty Clang feels the need to use lethal force to defend himself, and takes a swing with the Falchion of Judgment! Faced with a physical fight, Lucrecia shapeshifts into her natural form -- woman on top, snake underneath, and all angry. She begins by casting charm spells, although Clang (the first target) is able to shake it off. Kaycee, Clang and Mir all have trouble penetrating the both mundane and magical armour, but at least their attacks prove able to disrupt her spells. Finally, the rolls start coming, and the party is able to land some shots as they surround her. Seeing that the fight is beginning to go against her, Lucrecia states that Mokmurian will take them all, and attempts to use dimension door to escape (just as Mammy Graul did). A nicely timed backstab by Mir however disrupts her concentration and the spell fails. Finally, after a good old fashioned beat down of (literally) dozens of attacks for every one of Lucrecia's, the creature is unconscious. What do you do with an unconscious lamia? Kaycee suggests tying her up, waking her up and interrogating her -- there are lots of unanswered questions, like "What is the purpose of the Sihedron ritual?" and "Who is Mokmurian?" and "Why did you attack this fort?". Some of the other party members are in favour of just ending Lucrecia's life, lest she resumes her attack when awoken. Kranks puts an end to the debate by braining Lucrecia with his mace as the debate progresses. With Lucrecia dead, the party continues to explore the keep, advancing to the main floor. The fire outside seems to have lured most of the Kreegs to the New Burnacks as shouts and commotion can be heard from outside. As the group explores, the encounter one obviously sadistic ogre in the keep's infirmary, who seems to be arranging the bodies (and body parts) of Fort Rannick rangers in gruesome poses. The ogre is quickly put down by the group, who continue to the 2nd floor. They discover what was once apparently a chapel, now defiled in a mockery of its former glory. The alter has been splattered with gore and entrails of worshipers, and standing over all the is biggest ogre they have ever seen. The 14' creature wastes no time on small talk, screaming "When you get to Hell, tell them Pappy Kreeg sent you!" and attacking. This is clearly the toughest ogre encountered by our heroes, as his hide and armour prove to be quite effective. Still, the sheer number of swings and shots the group gets in is enough to put the creature down. As he dies, he mutters "Mokmurian, forgive me..." With the commotion of the fire still raging outside, and more of the keep to explore, what will our heroes do next? Having dealt with 'Pappy' Kreeg and Lucrecia, there's still some clean up left to do at Fort Rannick. Continuing to explore the second floor of the keep, the Drunkards first find two ogres in a conference room. Mir, thinking fast, slips on his Skinsaw Mask and impersonates Lucrecia, although he is still out of sight of the beasts. Going along with the ruse, Clang (now wielding a longsword and shield) and Kaycee enter the room with the ogres nonthreatening and tell the ogres "Lucrecia sent us. You're wanted in the chapel." The ogres are cautious, but let their guard down when the see 'Lucrecia' at the door. The two make their way to the chapel, but once they open the door to see the dead body of 'Pappy' are shocked, just as Mir's rapier plunges devastatingly into the back of neck of the first ogre, spurting blood everywhere. Clang quickly finishes the job. Meanwhile, Rubick's acid splash and Kaycee's arrows down the second creature before he can react. The group continues to explore and finds the keep's bell tower. At the top of the tower, they discover a grizzly sight -- the bell's clapper has been removed and replaced by a dead ranger tied up by his feet and wearing an iron helm. It is noted that the party can see 6 ogres outside still battling the blaze at the New Barracks -- Rubick sends a proper artillery strike in the form a fireball, and takes out 5 of them, while Kaycee picks off the remaining one with arrows. The ranger is cut down out of the bell, and Rubick safely feather falls the body to the ground. Back inside, the party continues exploring -- two more ogres (one wearing prosthetic metal jaw with razor sharp teeth, and a female spellcaster calling herself Dorella) are encountered within what appear to be the commander's chambers. Kaycee provides Clang (now re-armed with his falchion) with the translation to a traditional ogre insult ("Your shoes look like you bought them on sale!") to try to draw the caster's attention. The doorway proved to be a choke point, and Clang, Mir and Kaycee are able to hold the fighter while the Dorella's casting proves largely ineffective. As the brute is downed, Rubick makes Mir invisible as Clang approaches Dorella, but Kaycee is confused by the caster's magic and starts babbling. Mir's backstab is again devastating and the ogre attempts to escape by casting a spell -- she disappears. Frustrated that dimension door is letting yet another opponent disappear, Clang swings at the empty air -- and hits Dorella who is merely invisible. She is quickly dispatched by mighty Clang, although her confusion spell is still in effect -- Kaycee unloads a barrage of arrows into the paladin doing quite a bit of damage until she can be tied up and the confusion passes. Withing the commander's chambers, the Drunkards find a secret cache under the commander's dresser -- a set of boots of the mire (claimed by Kaycee) and a dozens upon dozens of love sonnets written to "Myriana” (who is apparently so beautiful that the moon itself was "blinded when it spied her dancing on the tarn"). Jarkdros tells the Drunkards that the commander used to go for "communion" walks for weeks at a time among the Shimmerglens (a swamp near Turtleback Ferry) and that he was not in the fort when the Kreegs attacked. The party continues to explore the fort, and although a couple more ogres are encountered, they are easily dealt with. The map rooms and halls and armory and other areas of the fort are largely looted and damaged, although a few maps and items of value are recovered. Now that the fort is secure, the group looks at the list they found in Lucrecia's chamber -- it seems to be a list of names of those who have pledged their soul Lucrecia's master, whomever that may be. On the list is the name of Kaven Windstrike, one of the rangers accompanying the PCs. Jakardros and Vale confront Kaven who admits the truth -- a gambling addict, he was seduced by Lucrecia while gaming on the Paradise. He informed Lucrecia when a large patrol would be out at the same time that the fort commander would be on one of his communions, which allowed the Kreegs to attack when the fort was at its weakest. Jakardros and Vale take Kaven into the castle courtyard and take the weight off his shoulders. By which I mean his head. Fort Rannick is liberated, but the Black Arrows are all but destroyed. All that remain are Jakandros, Vale, and (possibly) the commander in the Shimmerglens. The group has a decision to make -- do they make a trip to Magnimar to report what has happened? Do they go to the Shimmerglens to try to locate the missing commander? Or do they travel to nearby Hook Mountain (home to the ogres) to try to search for clues as to what her ultimate plan was? Adventure 14 - The Shimmerglens, aka RIP Bardakus, Clang, Rubick Clang, Rubick, Bardakus and Mir have elected to search the Shimmerglens for Lamatar, Fort Rannick's missing commander. Their first hour or so in the swamp are awful, with the rain pouring down, and the muck of the swamp seeping into their boots. Mir notices a set of eyes watching them... they belong to a pixie, quite nervous, named Yap. "Please, you must help my mistress" he pleads. "She is... very ill. The Shimmerglens, they feel her sorrow and it is poisoning this place." After a few questions, the party puts together that the mistress, Myriana, was Lamatar's lover. Several weeks ago a woman with bright red hair led a party of ogres into the Shimmerglens and did... something... to Myriana. The tell Yap that they will do what they can to help Myriana with the hope that she will lead them to Lamatar. Yap leads the party into the 'Glens, but they encounter several clearings that Yap does not recall. The first such contains a table, two chairs... and an ogre with pallid white skin as if he's been underwater for a long time sitting in a chair. On the table are a set of dice, and a shimmering blue sword (a rapier) that the ogre is apparently willing to bet. Bardakus answers the challenge, betting the Pipes of the Sewer that he absolutely did not use to kill Tsuto. Baradkus wins. The ogre, table, chairs and dice all disappear in a grey fog, leaving only the rapier (identified as a +1 shock rapier), which Bardakus entrusts to Mir. The next clearing they enter has a pool of still water, very clear. Yap tells the party that people of the swamp often came to the pool to fill their waterskins, as the reflections in the pool would show you pleasant images and bring good fortune. He says that the pool has not been behaving lately, and it is a risky venture to gaze within. All of the party, of course, gaze into the pool. Clang sees horrid images from his past, but vows to fight on. Bardakus sees images of the Skinsaw Man, and renews his suspicions of Rubick. Rubick and Mir see images of party members (Rubick sees Clang, Mir sees Bardakus) turn undead and ambush the party. Both are convinced that what they see is the truth, and vow to destroy the "undead" who took the place of their friend at the next opportunity. In the next clearing, the party comes across a derelict ship, inexplicably hundreds of miles from the coast. The design is hundreds, if not thousands of years old. They climb a tree and jump in through a stern window to the interior -- well, mostly jump in. Mir trips Bardakas as he is trying to jump, and Bardakus falls 20' to into the soft muck below (and Mir is released from his compulsion to ambush Bardakus). Bardakus calls Mir an asshole and demands the rapier back. Inside the ship, the group finds the long dead captain holding ancient Thasselonian maps, and a harpsichord with sheet music. After 20 minutes of practicing, Bardakus can finally play the tune -- it is a beautiful melody in a style long forgotten, but Bardakus deduces that it is one of the long lost masterpieces of the famous Thasselonian composer J.S. Bach. The entire party is inspired by the music. Bardakus makes a mental note to play the first few bars for Cyrdak before tearing the sheet music up in front of him. The next clearing there is a tree stump with a rune carved in it. The place reeks of evil (so does the whole swamp, though) and Yap offers to take them around a different way -- an offer the party declines. Upon reading the rune, the party is engulfed by pain. A familiar voice is heard among the trees -- "You lot took ma boys from me. Now yous a-gonna die!" Mammy Graul has returned, and the group is surrounded by 3 ogre zombies, and an ogrekin zombie. Rubick casts web, catching Mammy and one of the ogres. Mir begins fighting off one of the others, and Clang chooses a target to engage. Rubick sees the opportunity to undo the undead Clang, and casts glitterdust, blinding the paladin mid-fight. The party does its best despite being crippled, and the fight looks like it'll be tough, but winnable, especially after Clang shakes off the blindness. Then Mammy breaks free of the web. It seems she took note of how effective Rubick's fireball was the last time you met, and she sends one into the middle of clearing. She kills two of her own zombies (leaving just one left) but pieces of Bardakus splatter everywhere. Clang and Rubick are knocked unconscious too, and Mir is looking none-too-healthy. Facing off against an ogre zombie and Mammy Graul is not something the elf thinks he can do alone. There is nothing to be done for Bardakus, but hopefully Mammy will let his friends live long enough to mount a rescue. Mir slips into the woods. Adventure 12.1 - In the Hook's Shadow At the request of officials in Magnimar, the Drunkards agree to investigate the silence of the rangers stationed at Fort Rannick, near Turtleback Ferry. When they arrive in the village, they find signs that Xanesha's sister Lucrecia has been performing the Sihedron ritual on villagers. Putting this information aside for the time being, they are on their way to Fort Rannick when they come across and defeat a deformed ogrekin who seems to have had involvement in capturing or killing the Fort Rannick Rangers. Adventure 12.2 - The Graul Barn The party follows a train to a homestead, consisting of a boarded up farmhouse and a barn. The house shows outward signs of ogrekin inhabitations (macabre carvings on the porch, etc) so the party decides to go to the barn first (to prevent reinforcements from coming up that way). In the barn they fight some of Rukas' brothers and rescue three captured Order of the Black Arrow Rangers from the ogrekin and their pet spider. They return the three emaciated survivors to Turtleback Ferry before returning to the homestead. Adventure 12.3 - The Graul House The Drunkards return to the Graul Homestead to deal with the ogrekin threat. Despite a massive quantity of traps, they are able to dispatch most of the creates (with the exception of matriarch 'Mammy' Graul who used magic to escape to unknown whereabouts). Adventure 13.1 - Fort Rannick The party proceed to Fort Rannick, where they infultrate the fort via a secret passage. While there, they confront Lucrecia, 'Pappy' Kreeg and a few other ogres. Adventure 13.2 - Fort Rannick Cleanup Having dealt with 'Pappy' Kreeg and Lucrecia, the Drunkards clean up Fort Rannick. Adventure 14 - The Shimmerglens, aka RIP Bardakus, Clang, Rubick Clang, Rubick, Bardakus and Mir have elected to search the Shimmerglens for Lamatar, Fort Rannick's missing commander. The 'Glens seem to be enchanted, but plagued by some sickness. A pixie named Yap suggests that the cause is that his mistress (the guardian of the Glens) is "very sick, and needs help." The group encounters many odd things in the 'Glens, including an enchanted pool which causes Mir and Rubick to distrust Bardakus and Clang. This charm proves deadly when the group is ambushed by Mammy Graul, out for revenge, and Rubick glitterdusts Clang. Mammy's zombies do massive damage while herding the group together and a fireball ends the life of Clang, Rubick and Bardakus. Dismayed, Mir slips into the forest, vowing to avenge his friends. Adventure 15 - Revenge in the Shimmerglens Mir stumbles into Turtleback Ferry to relay the news about Clang, Rubick and Bardakus. Kranks can be found, but Kaycee cannot (instead they meet up with one of Kaycee's associates, the dwarven druid Torak, and a travelling warpriest by the name of Sigmar). The four journey back to the 'Glens to retrieve their friend's bodies and to try to avenge their deaths. Once in the swamp, they meet a woods' witch named Lanaya, and her friend Glen (who acts a bit odd). Lanaya and Glen have felt the sickness in the swamp and want to help stop it, so they join the party. Before long, the track Mammy Graul to the shack she commandeered (its previous owner being turned into a zombie by Graul's necromancy). To the shock of all, Torak transforms himself into a bat to survey the area -- he sees a zombified Clang, a stool made out of bones that are Bardakus' size, and an arm (with tattoos matching Rubick's) sticking out of a pot of stew. The party is angered by the disrespect to their comrades, and moves in to ambush Graul and her companions. The new guys certainly prove their mettle. Lanaya grabs her broom and flies around the battle field, cackling and casting hexes! Sigmar battles the zombie Clang in single combat, and Glen jumps on Mammy, tearing at her neck and feasting on her blood. Magic flies through the air, as a giant pit opens beneath one of the zombies, killing it in the fall. Finally, Mammy is downed, passing out from blood loss before passing softly. Inside the shack, the group finds the treasure of their friends. Having avenged their deaths, the group attempts to complete the last mission of Clang, Bardakus and Rubick. They track the source of the swamp's sickness to a clearing where a once beautiful nymph, Myriana, once lived. Instead, they find the restless ghost of Myriana, the spectral form of her torn-off arms floating at her side. Even the dimmest of the group can tell that she is trapped in the mortal plane by overwhelming grief and sorry. She bids you to find her love, Lamatar, who was last seen being taken away by ogres towards Hook Mountain, and to bring him back to her. Adventure 16.1 - Here Comes the Flood The Drunkards (less Mir, who went to bury the bones of his friends in Sandpoint) return to Turtleback Ferry to head to Hook Mountain via Fort Rannick. They find a friendly face waiting on the dock - Kaycee. She's been at Fort Rannick tending to Lord-and-Lady-Business when she received a raven. The message was from an (apparent) anonymous ally in Riddleport who warns of a Stone Giant named Barl Breakbones, his master Mokmurrian and an ancient evil named Karzoug. The message also suggests that Fort Rannick may have been a distraction, as Karzoug would be more interested in the ancient dam known as Skull's Crossing, which holds the inland sea know as Storval Deep back the Skull River. As the group is pondering the message, the Skull River begins to rise and overflows its banks. A group of school children and their schoolteacher Tilia Henkenson are trapped on a barge, which a giant python has decided might as well be a serving tray. Tilia's attractive appearance causes Kaycee to have some questions about herself. Kranks earns the MVP of the day award by casting water walk on the party. Sigmar runs towards the barge while Kaycee shoots arrows at the python, which has by this point grabbed little Tabitha from the barge. The snake is soon dispatched, earning Kaycee a wink from Tilia as Sigmar pulls the boat back to shore (actually to the town church, which is the high-ground where all the villages are holed up). Celebrations are short lived, however. An ear-piercing roar is heard, and panic ensues within the church. Once deemed a tall tale, the legendary creature Black Magga has come to visit its rage upon the town. Lanaya, Torak and Kranks fill Kaycee and Sigmar in on the legend -- the most fearful servant of Lamashtu, god of monsters, Black Magga was said to be one of the most fiersome things ever to walk the earth. The creature before you must be but a shadow of her former power but still able to crush the town whole unless the party does something. Kaycee fires an arrow (to little effect) while trying to draw the creature away from the church. Lanaya tries to cast spells on the creature, but it seems immune. Torak and Sigmar attempt to manoeuvre around the creature, but its size prevents a decent attack, and its breath causes Sigmar to become confused. Kranks casts bless on Kaycee who eventually is able to fire an effective volley into the creature (more roars). Finally the creature plunges into the water to seek out easier prey downstream. A mighty roar goes up from the church, and the party is hailed as the heroes of Turtleback Ferry! Tilia embraces Kaycee a bit more enthusiastically than expected, but Kaycee doesn't complain. The party decides to rest up in Turtleback Ferry before heading north to investigate the dam of Skull's Crossing. After checking out what's going on there, they will proceed to Hook Mountain to confront Barl Breakbones and find Lamatar. Adventure 16.2 - Approaching Skull's Crossing Having saved the denizens of Turtleback Ferry from the ancient horror Black Magga, our heroes have decided to investigate the dam at Skull's Crossing before heading to Hook Mountain. They hope to find the cause of the rising water, and how Black Magga escaped the Storval Deep, since Skill's Crossing is pretty much on their way to Hook Mountain. Glen, having filled himself on ogre blood, is found sleeping in the bottom of a boat under a bolt of canvas, so the party elects to let him sleep, and takes the boat up river. They arrive to the giant Hoover-esque dam which is adorned with a skull motif. Kranks, having studied history, knows that the skull is a symbol associated with Karzoug, a powerful semi-legendary figure from ancient Thasselon whose 10,000 year old name you have now heard twice. The cause of the rising water (and the explanation of Black Magga) can be readily seen -- a large fracture at the top of the dam is allowing the waters of the Storval Deep to flood the river. At least the majority of the dam is holding, for now. The shapes of huge creatures can be made out on the top of the dam, but they are too far away to identify. A (rather convenient) staircase winds its way up the cliff, and the party decides to make use of it. As they arrive at the bottom of the steps, an unexpected greeting awaits them. Hundreds of skulls (animal and humanoid) set on spikes each have the same warning spelled out on the foreheads in Giant -- "Giants, keep out!". The steps seem to have been carved for giant-sized legs, but the group climbs the steps none the less (Sigmar almost fell under the weight of his armour, but Torak casts Mass Feather Step to make the terrain easier. They reach the apparent top of the staircase, and one final step remains -- a 15' sheer climb up to a ledge. The group quickly starts debating among themselves the best combination of people, techniques, and spells to ascend. While all this is going on, Kaycee says "screw it" and just scales the ledge while carrying a rope to help the others. Two voices speaking Giant surprise Kaycee at the top -- "You no go here!" and "Troll say no one come!" An ettin (two-headed, three-armed giant kin) attacks (but misses) Kaycee. Knowing she has no hope of taking the creature alone in combat, she does not go for her weapons, but instead tries to bluff the ettin. "Stop it, friend, troll sent us to help. Now give me a hand getting the rest of us up here!" Apparently ettins are not that bright, and the creature easily hauls the rest of the group to the top of the ledge. "You friend of troll? Troll not tell Gorger and Chaw about you," says one head. "You here to worship Grazul?" asks the other. Kranks is the one to not-so-subtly notify Gorger and Chaw that no, he will not be worshipping Grazul today. The party attacks. Sigmar readies his shield and holds the ettin in place, while Torak transforms into an Earth Elemental, and "swims" through the rock to pop up in flanking position behind him. Kranks imbues Sigmar's weapon with holy might and Kaycee looses a few arrows. Torak smashes the ettin's two heads together (each spit a few teeth out) and within no time, the beast is downed. The ettin was guarding the mouth of a cave. Exploring, the stench in the cave is awful -- half-eaten corpses pack the place. A few items (a pouch of pearls, some gold, a phylactery of channelling, a ring of animal friendship, and an ivory scroll tube containing Cone of Cold, Hold Monster and Teleport) are found. The group emerges from the other end of the cave to find themselves at the top of the dam. Torak, still in Earth Elemental form, scouts outside the mouth of the cave -- a group of ogres (5 "workers" plus what apparently is a "supervisor" are chipping at the dam with crude tools. This cannot stand! Kranks whispers a word to the gods above and a pillar of flame shoots down from the heavens to strike the supervisor. Kaycee looses a barrage of arrows at one of the workers, felling him. The real MVP of the battle however goes to Torak, who (as an Earth Elemetal) summons a field of razor-sharp spikes from the ground to surround the ogres. Every step they take, they lacerate their feet and legs, with most killing themselves before they even near the heroes. Kaycee unfortunately realizes she's getting a bit low on ammo. The rest of the party mops of the rest of the ogres (with what few HP the creates have left) while Kaycee bides her time (15 arrows left). Half way across the dam, a tower rises. Three doors appear to be present -- the centre one was apparently damaged significantly and has been repaired, with the other two barred from the inside. Fortunately, stone walls are no barrier to Earth Elemental Torak who strides through the stone tower to unbar a door from the inside. The group finds the tower overgrown with a strange fungus that the party cannot identify. Even more oddly, some thing appears to have been making nests with the moss. Exploring the tower, Sigmar opens a door to a large room, and (very much like in Aliens) a form drops down behind him -- a troll! As the group is fighting the creature (who's damage reduction and regeneration are making the fight pretty tough) more trolls arrive. The group expends most of it's energy, but eventually the trolls are routed and the last two surviving ones begin to run (and get away unfortunately). Adventure 16.3 - You Here to Worship Grazul? The party explores the rest of the tower, eventually coming to set of huge doors, with "Here is the domain of Grazul!" carved into them. They go through the doors and down hundreds of feet of stairs, probably to the very centre of the dam. The enter a room with a large pool in the middle. There are a few alcoves, and another door on the opposite side of the room (with hundreds or thousands of skulls piled in front of it. As they move around the room, there is a shimmer from the pool, and something rises -- a huge aquatic troll (the "Grazul" you've heard about, worshipped as a deity by the other trolls) who thinks that the party have been sent down as his next meal. Grazul proves an extremely tough opponent (gory battle details here -- one party member knocked unconscious, another was 1 grapple check away from being dragged under water and drowned, another out of spells, and another out of arrows) but the group just manages to kill the creature. Much healing followed. Exploring the pool, it is found that two underwater tunnels lead to areas behind the walls -- Torak investigates. The first area contains Treasure Most Wonderful. The second area is contains a scale model of the dam, with 5 (real) skulls set into the model. It seems that this model is the "control" for the sluice gates of real dam. Too bad there doesn't seem to be any power for the sluice gates at this time... while investigating, Torak sees skulls on the floor suddenly assemble themselves into the shape of a scorpion. He "nopes" the fuck out of there and returns to the main chamber. Next, the group digs out the unopened door behind the pile of skulls. Inside, they find two apparently magic circles of runes carved into the floor. One contains a pile of ashes. The other contains the unconscious form of what Kranks identifies as a Pit Fiend (an immensely powerful being of pure evil, summoned from the lower planes of existence -- basically Satan's cousin). The creature stirs, and telepathically communicates with the group, offering the group great power and any other desire if they'd set him free. Between the images the pit fiend sends, and some lucky knowledge skill checks, the party figures out what happened. It seems that Karzoug captured two pit fiends 10,000 years ago and trapped them within these magic circles. He has been using their life force to power the dam's sluice gates when flooding occurs. Over time enough life force was drained that the last major flood, 50 years ago, killed the second pit fiend, and weakened the first to near death. The dam needs a creature in each circle to function. Knowing that if the gates are not opened then the dam will burst, killing all in Turtleback Ferry, the selfless Sigmar enters the second circle, and feels the assault of magic. The gates open and the pit fiend shatters into ashes. With the gate open the energy sapped from Sigmar seems to return to his body and he leaves the circle no worse for wear. Crisis averted, the party as a whole deals returns to the model of the dam, deals with the skull-scorpion quickly, and begins their trek back to Fort Rannick Adventure 17.1 - Into the Hook Back from Skull's Crossing, the Drunkards prepare to assault Hook Mountain -- the clanhold of the Kreeg ogres who recently overran Fort Rannick, and the place where Lucrecia supposedly took Lamatar (Fort Rannick's missing commander). The rumours heard say that the Kreeg ogre clan became so aggressive when a leader (some say a stone giant) known as Barl Breakbones took over the clan. Fort Rannick's head ranger, Jakardros, joins the group for the assault on the clanhold to find (or avenge) his commander. The way to Hook Mountain is colder than expected, and the first attempt to penetrate the foothills sees the party turned back by bitter cold -- only Jakardros brought winter clothes. The following day a new expedition is mounted with proper furs. Finding the entrance to the clanhold is not an issue for seasoned rangers Jarardros, Kaycee and druid Torak to find -- ogre tracks lead to cave with huge bones placed in the entrance, and a pair of Kreeg guards are easily dispatched. The bones are identified as those of a blue dragon -- the Kreegs claim they are descended from a mighty ogre who slew a blue dragon in ancient times. Carved into the bones is a familiar 7-pointed star -- the Sihedron Rune. Farther into the cave, a 40' tall statue of a giant (later determined to be the petrified body of a giant) is sitting on a carved throne with a huge Sihedron medallion around its neck. When the medallion is removed, the body disintegrated into dust. Continuing into the clanhold, the group comes upon a huge hole in the ground. - fight ogres/hill giant (stone spikes spell)